Observations, articles, opinions etc. in Dutch and English. The author, Bert de Bruin (Yonathan Dror Bar-On), is a Dutch-Jewish historian, who has specialized in modern Jewish history and in the history of the Middle East, and who in 1995 emigrated from the Netherlands to Israel. He wrote one book (2008), and edited another (2011), both in Dutch. For feedback please post a comment, or send this blog's author an email: (hisdutchname)atyahoodotcom

Friday, April 13, 2007

The theme of this year's Yom HaShoah, from Sunday evening till Monday evening, is of particular importance for historians. As in Holland, during the year few outstanding Holocaust-related programs are broadcast here, and then in the days before Yom HaShoah suddenly a real overdose of sometimes very good movies and documentaries descends upon us. On Sunday evening I will certainly watch a documentary by Guy Meroz and Orly Vilnai-Federbusch, makers of the Civil Guard documentary series, about the fact that 80.000 Holocaust survivors in Israel live below the poverty line, a disgrace not only for the State and the successive governments of Israel but also for the Claims Conference and other organizations that manage the billions of Euros and dollars that have been paid as some sort of compensation by various companies and governments that had profited directly or indirectly from the Shoah.

Recently the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington and Google started cooperating in a unique project, Crisis in Darfur. It can help people all over the globe "to visualize and better understand the genocide currently unfolding in Darfur, Sudan". Those who are able and willing to really get involved in the efforts to stop that genocide will also find information about what they can do.